OpTic Gaming, the four-time Call of Duty Major League Gaming Champions and one of the top eSports teams in the world, now takes fans behind the controller—into the game and the minds of the greatest gamers in the world—in this fascinating and unique memoir and insider guide. Emerging on the scene in 2006, OpTic Gaming has dominated the Call of Duty e-sports arena, thanks to the talents of legendary players such as Matt “NaDeSHoT” Haag, the biggest eSports personality on earth; Seth “Scump” Abner, the best Call of Duty player in the world; Midnite, one of the first girl gamers to rise to stardom on YouTube; and Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez, the team founder and CEO. With over 14 million followers across social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, no other team of players in eSports can match OpTic's popularity or ability to bring fans into the game. Now, these remarkable players have collaborated to produce this one-of-a-kind book. In OpTic Gaming, they candidly share their story of becoming Call of Duty's global royalty—ESPN XGAMES, MLG, ESWC and GFINITY champions—laying bare their lives, exploring what it takes to make it in professional gaming, and speaking honestly about the consequences of their newfound fame. These best-of-the-best take you behind the controller, offering insights, knowledge, and strategies to help you improve your shot, master the most complex maps, and conquer the game with the ultimate weapons. Going beyond their number-one game, the team also discusses the rest of their lineups and how to become a champion in any arena. Revealing their go-to strategies, best missions, and favorite challenges, OpTic Gaming brings fans closer to these wildly popular professional gamers more than ever before.

Competitive video and computer game play is nothing new: the documentary King of Kong memorably portrays a Donkey Kong player's attempts to achieve the all-time highest score; the television show Starcade (1982--1984) featured competitions among arcade game players; and first-person shooter games of the 1990s became multiplayer through network play. A new development in the world of digital gaming, however, is the emergence of professional computer game play, complete with star players, team owners, tournaments, sponsorships, and spectators. In Raising the Stakes, T. L. Taylor explores the emerging scene of professional computer gaming and the accompanying efforts to make a sport out of this form of play. In the course of her explorations, Taylor travels to tournaments, including the World Cyber Games Grand Finals (which considers itself the computer gaming equivalent of the Olympics), and interviews participants from players to broadcasters. She examines pro-gaming, with its highly paid players, play-by-play broadcasts, and mass audience; discusses whether or not e-sports should even be considered sports; traces the player's path from amateur to professional (and how a hobby becomes work); and describes the importance of leagues, teams, owners, organizers, referees, sponsors, and fans in shaping the structure and culture of pro-gaming. Taylor connects professional computer gaming to broader issues: our notions of play, work, and sport; the nature of spectatorship; the influence of money on sports. And she examines the ongoing struggle over the gendered construction of play through the lens of male-dominated pro-gaming. Ultimately, the evolution of professional computer gaming illuminates the contemporary struggle to convert playful passions into serious play.

In South Korea, online gaming is a cultural phenomenon. Games are broadcast on television, professional gamers are celebrities, and youth culture is often identified with online gaming. Uniquely in the online games market, Korea not only dominates the local market but has also made its mark globally. In Korea's Online Gaming Empire, Dal Yong Jin examines the rapid growth of this industry from a political economy perspective, discussing it in social, cultural, and economic terms. Korea has the largest percentage of broadband subscribers of any country in the world, and Koreans spend increasing amounts of time and money on Internet-based games. Online gaming has become a mode of socializing--a channel for human relationships. The Korean online game industry has been a pioneer in software development and eSports (electronic sports and leagues). Jin discusses the policies of the Korean government that encouraged the development of online gaming both as a cutting-edge business and as a cultural touchstone; the impact of economic globalization; the relationship between online games and Korean society; and the future of the industry. He examines the rise of Korean online games in the global marketplace, the emergence of eSport as a youth culture phenomenon, the working conditions of professional gamers, the role of game fans as consumers, how Korea's local online game industry has become global, and whether these emerging firms have challenged the West's dominance in global markets.

A Close-Up Look at the Global Phenomenon of Competitive Video Gaming Esports is one of the fastest growing—and most cutthroat—industries in the world. A confluence of technology, culture, and determination has made this possible. Players around the world compete for millions of dollars in prize money, and companies like Amazon, Coca Cola, and Intel have invested billions. Esports events have sold out Los Angeles’s Staples Center, Seoul’s World Cup Stadium, and Seattle’s KeyArena. Hundreds of people have dedicated their lives to gaming, sacrificing their education, relationships, and even their bodies to compete, committing themselves with the same fervor of any professional athlete. In Good Luck Have Fun, author Roland Li talks to some of the biggest names in the business and explores the players, companies, and games that have made it to the new major leagues. Follow Alexander Garfield as he builds Evil Geniuses, a modest gaming group, in his college dorm into a global, multimillion-dollar eSports empire. Learn how Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill made League of Legends the world’s most successful eSports league and most popular PC game, on track to make over $1 billion a year. See how Twitch pivoted from a video streaming novelty into a $1 billion startup on the back of professional gamers. And dive into eSports’ dark side: drug abuse, labor troubles, and for each success story, hundreds of people who failed to make it big. These are the stories of the rise of an industry and culture that challenge what we know about sports, games, and competition.

It’s time to become a Legend. Watched by millions and contested by the best professional gamers in the world, League of Legends is more than a game. Since the very beginnning of eSports, Fnatic have been competing at the highest level. In 2011, they won the World Championships and in 2015 they achieved the impossible: an entire regular season undefeated. In How to be a Professional Gamer, they take you inside the elite world of the sport, and into the world of competitive gaming. Sharing their knowledge, expertise, and strategies, it’s only a matter of time before you’re a world champion, too. Including tips on game strategy, teamwork and mental strength, How to be a Professional Gamer is both a guide for how to improve as a regular gamer, and the story of Fnatic and how they’ve conquered the world of eSports. Are you ready?

A dying boy on a dying planet plays a dangerous, sophisticated, and addictive game that could save his life—if it doesn’t kill him first. A complex, gorgeous, literary thriller for fans for Ernest Cline, Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, and M.T. Anderson. In a futuristic version of Earth, society is mostly controlled by a company that produces an addictive virtual reality game called Chimera. Everyone plays Chimera. Defeating the levels is how you earn enough points for clothes, food, even medical enhancements. Miguel Anderson is good at it. In fact, he’s better than anyone he knows. He spends all of his free time playing, hoping to reach Level 25. At Level 25 you can pick any prize you want—and Miguel needs a new biometric heart. When the game runners announce a global competition to launch a new version with untold prizes, Miguel enters and becomes a team leader. That’s new for him—playing on a team. And complicated, as the game becomes a delicate power play between wholly unexpected players. This is the first of two books and features gorgeous writing, compelling action, and a flawed and memorable hero.

A hilarious, in-your-face guide to the online universe from the BEAST of the internet, YouTube superstar KSI. It's your boy KSI! And I've got a confession to make. I. AM. A. Tool. Yes, I've committed crimes against the internet: excessively posting selfies, oversharing about my dead nana, spending all day scouring Tinder and suffering FIFA rage. But my therapist tells me that with acceptance comes salvation, so now I'm going to blow the doors off the internet to find the cure. Hold on to your balls while I take down fellow YouTubers, trolls, pervs, catfishers, and Nigerian scammers in an all-out assault on the online universe. Also, do you want to know how I became a YouTube kingpin? Back away, mo-fo, that title is mine! Jokes . . . I'll show you how to be a baller on YouTube, the best ways to get paid online, and how you can make the internet yours. Prepare to laugh, be horrified, and cry to your mom. This is going to get messy. What did you expect? A book full of blank pages, lame challenges, and really deep lifestyle tips? Do me a favor. This sh*t is legit!